00.4: Las Vegas sports bar puts up 165 billboards in Edmonton to taunt Oilers fans
A sports bar in Las Vegas put up 165 billboards in Edmonton on Monday, May 12, 2025, to taunt Oilers fans after their team won 4-3 last Saturday. (Source: X)
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Globe and Mail
15 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
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It wasn't long ago that some Canadians were up in arms about hockey legend Wayne Gretzky's ties to U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. But as the Edmonton Oilers skate their way through the Stanley Cup final, hockey fans say it's time to let bygones be bygones. 'I don't think it matters,' said Craig Hiscock, a longtime Oilers fan, as he posed Wednesday for a photo with a statue of Gretzky outside Rogers Place in Edmonton ahead of Game 1. 'Let's forget about the past. What he did here was a lot for the city, a lot for hockey.' The statue was vandalized in March and smeared with what appeared to be and strongly smelled like feces. On Wednesday, a hip-high metal fence was up around the bronze figure. An online petition started in February calling for a new name for Wayne Gretzky Drive also has about 14,000 signatures. Edmonton statue of Oilers great Wayne Gretzky smeared with excrement Gretzky, the Ontario-born hockey star who led the Oilers to four Stanley Cup victories in the 1980s, recently drew the ire of Canadians for his public support of Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire for Canada to join the U.S and become its 51st state. The Great One was photographed with Trump several times at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. In January, Gretzky and his wife, Janet, attended Trump's inauguration in Washington. Frustrations grew after he appeared as honorary captain for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off final with the United States. Video footage showed him giving the U.S. team a thumbs-up as he walked to the ice. Gretzky also congratulated Dallas Stars players in their locker room last month, after they advanced to the Western Conference final. The Oilers eliminated the Stars in five games and now have one win against the Florida Panthers in the Cup final. Brian Foulken, who became a fan during the Gretzky era and collects Oilers merchandise, said Gretzky's accomplishments, including multiple scoring records that stand to this day, still resonate with people. As for the criticism, Foulken said people are going to have their own opinions. 'At the end of the day, [Gretzky] played here for a long time. The diehard Oilers [fans], we love him,' he said outside the arena before Game 1. 'He's an amazing player.' Foulken added that current Oilers captain Connor McDavid is inching closer to Gretzky-level greatness. Darren Rogers, a Gretzky fan since the Oilers' inception into the NHL in 1979, said Gretzky's leadership led the team to win multiple Stanley Cups. Trouble in Gretzkyville: For the first time, The Great One finds himself shunned by Edmonton fans Politics aside, that accomplishment should matter more to people in the grand scheme of things, Rogers said. Gretzky was in Edmonton for Wednesday's game. And as storied as Gretzky is to the Oilers franchise, he appeared to still be catching up to this new generation's fan base. On an American sports network, he sat side by side with commentators, as they discussed the Oilers' new tradition of playing the pop song Pink Pony Club. Players have been tight-lipped about the significance of the Chappell Roan hit, typically heard after the team plays La Bamba by Los Lobos following a win. 'Pink Pony — is that a band or is that a song?' the 64-year-old Gretzky asked TNT Sports co-host Paul Bissonnette following the Oilers' 4-3 overtime victory in Game 1. '[Roan] sings a song, Pink Pony Club, and it's famous. It's on the radio,' Bissonnette answered. 'It's the new generation, Wayne,' he added. Gretzky appeared disappointed to learn Roan isn't Canadian, but still seemed eager to check out the song. 'I gotta get that [as] my ringtone,' Gretzky said.
CTV News
27 minutes ago
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Kitchener Rangers sign Adam Valentini to the team
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National Post
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Canada coach irate after Vancouver Whitecaps players stricken by illness in Mexico
Canada coach Jesse Marsch expressed outrage Friday that the Vancouver Whitecaps had been 'poisoned' during their visit to Mexico for the CONCACAF Champions Cup final. Article content The Whitecaps issued a statement Thursday saying about half of the 75 people who returned to Vancouver on the team's charter plane after Sunday's game had reported symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness. Article content Article content Whitecaps players Ali Ahmed, Sam Adekugbe and Jayden Nelson missed training after arriving sick in the Canadian camp in Halifax ahead of Saturday's game at Toronto's BMO Field between Canada and Ukraine in the inaugural Canadian Shield tournament. Article content 'They're better now,' Marsch said before speaking at a Canada Ukraine Foundation breakfast Friday. 'They're probably not ready for 90-minute performances (Saturday). But for me, it's appalling that this is the second year in a row that CONCACAF and the powers that be have allowed an MLS team to go down to Mexico for a big final and get poisoned. Article content 'It's ridiculous. Something has to be done to protect these environments.' Article content The Columbus Crew also complained of stomach illness after their loss at Mexico's CF Pachuca in last year's Champions Cup final. Coach Crew coach Wilfried Nancy confirmed afterwards that nearly the entire roster and coaching staff had been stricken by what the club believed to be food poisoning. Article content Article content Marsch acknowledged he had no proof of poisoning but added 'it's not random that two years in a row that this has happened.' Article content 'If I were the Vancouver Whitecaps, if I was the Columbus Crew, if I was MLS, I would be angry. I would be absolutely angry that this had been allowed to happen,' he added. Article content Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sorensen said Friday that he doesn't believe someone intentionally got his team sick. Article content 'I don't expect us to be deliberately poisoned or anything when we were down there. But I don't know,' he said. Article content Marsch does have experience of being at the receiving end of dark arts while visiting Mexico with the U.S. or a club team, citing fire alarms in the middle of the night and dancing and singing outside their hotel. Article content 'And those are somewhat spirited, competitive advantages that are created when you go down to Mexico,' he said. 'But poisoning the team is another version.'
